At something around a month old, we subjected Elliotte to her first flight. Today, we flew again, and brought her back home.
Flying with babies can be a tricky thing. For starters, we really have no documentation (aside from her Alberta Health card) that she actually belongs to us. We’d been warned that this might be an issue/problem, but in fact, things went smoothly as pie. We did learn that there are no shortcuts on the checking in side of things, though, so we had to stand in the longer slower line to get our boarding passes.
And of course, we were a little worried about being the object of scorn for four hours; doesn’t matter how cute your baby is (and damn it, we have a cute one) if she’s crying, then no one’s happy.
And of course (of course), since Air Canada is Satan, and the only other alternative is West Jet, we were hoping to take advantage of their premier services, which include rocking your baby to sleep for you.
A few things make travelling with baby easier, though. First off, strollers and car seats don’t seem to be included in the luggage allowance. Which was a good thing, since Elliotte took up one and a half suitcases. Not the girl, but her clothes.
How such a tiny thing requires so many clothes is beyond me. Note to all men out there: never let females pack for other females.
Second, you’re allowed to stroll you kidlet right up the departure ramp. From there, kindly hangar cats will stow your seat and stroller and make sure it’s there waiting for you when you deplane on the other side.
Much less chance of losing luggage that way. You know, the way Air Canada (Satan) does it. The way they did it to us upon returning from Hawaii.
There’s also the added benefit of having a smiling, beautiful little girl greasing your way through security. It was quite amazing – those security staff can actually smile!
And of course, there’s pre-boarding for those travelling with young children or who otherwise need assistance. It’s amazing how many able bodies young guys made it to the queue before we did. West Jet staff were very useful in telling those losers to go and sit their sorry asses back down and wait their turns.
So how did Ellie do? Fabulously. To Toronto, we fed her on the way up. She slept across my knees for three hours. We fed her as we descended (baby ears and air pressure and all that). She charmed everyone.
On the way back, we had to feed her a bit early, and topped her up as we took off. She slept the entire trip over, adn through the landing. Her ears were definitely better than La Fille‘s ™ (who griped about hers for hours after landing).
So all in all, an excellent travel experience.